Hideo Oba Shihan

Hideo Oba Shihan

27th April 1910 He was born in the village of Nakagawa in Akita prefecture, the fifth child of Teiichi and Taka Tozawa. He was the second son among eleven siblings. His father was a self taught ore refining engineer so the family moved first to a copper mine in Okayama prefecture and then the Omodani mine in Fukui prefecture. Teiichi then went to Korea alone leaving his family in the city of Akita. Upon his return they moved to Okazaki.

1925 Hideo entered the new Kakunodate Prefectural Junior High School on the 8th April as a first year student. He belonged to the judo club for five years and was made captain in his 5th year.

1930 He was blessed with physical strength and power so at this time he was unrivalled in judo within the prefecture. After graduation he took charge of judo in the junior high school.

1931 He was awarded his 2nd dan in Kodokan Judo and met Kenji Tomiki who came to the junior high school as a teacher. From September after enlisting in the 17th Akita Infantry Regiment he served in China where he was decorated for repeatedly crossing 'dead lines'.

1933 After demobilisation he returned to his junior high school as an assistant instructor in judo under Kenji Tomiki. He obtained his 5th dan in Kodokan Judo in October.

1936 In September he married Keiko Oba who was famous as a young teacher of the Japanese harp. He adopted his wife's family name.

1940 He obtained his licence for teaching judo at junior high schools. The following April he became a judo teacher at Kenkoku University in Manchukuo. At Tomiki's request Hideo held an additional post as a judo teacher in Shinkyo, the capital city of Manchukuo.

1942 He received his 5th dan in aikibudo from Morihei Ueshiba after which he began instructing aikibudo to the police in Shinkyo. Morihei Ueshiba used him during a budo festival on the 10th anniversary of the foundation of Manchukuo.

1943 He obtained his 6th Dan in aikido. While instructing aikido and judo he was learning kendo, naginata and iai.

1945 He returned to Japan after a period of forced labour at an aeroplane repair shop near the border of the Soviet Union. Tomiki remained in detention and, during this time, Hideo looked after Tomiki's wife. After repatriation he narrowly escaped death from typhus.

1950 After a year of recuperation with support from his wife he became a judo instructor for the Yokote police. He obtained his 6th dan in Kodokan Judo.

1954 He obtained a position at the Akita Prefecture Police Headquarters and became a judo instructor at the Akita Prefecture Police Academy. The golden age of the police judo club was during his tenure.

1959 He retired from his positions with the police because Tomiki invited him to Tokyo. He cherished a desire to help realise Tomiki's ideal that had been interrupted in Manchukuo.

1960 He became a lecturer in the Physical Education Department of Waseda University and at the same time became the Aikido Club instructor.

1977 He left Waseda University and became a lecturer at Kokushikan University. He made great efforts to instruct at many clubs for students and the general public as well as overseas in the UK and Australia.

1978 He was awarded 9th Dan from the Japan Aikido Association by Tomiki.

1979 He became the 2nd President of the Japan Aikido Association and the Director of Shodokan upon the death of Tomiki.

1982 He fell ill but perservered and after leaving the hospital resumed instructing.

1985 He retired from lecturing at Kokushikan University. Tetsuro Nariyama took over his position.